


cats and concerts

by bluecalicocat



Series: young, dumb and in love [2]
Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: '00 line are best friends, 3racha is a thing, Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Fluff, Han Jisung | Han-centric, Hurt/Comfort, Lee Minho | Lee Know-centric, Living Together, M/M, Panic Attacks, Past Abuse, Past Violence, They Adopt a Kitten, but only at the end, dori is a kitten, i'm not sure what to call it but it happened in the past
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-14
Updated: 2019-12-20
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:47:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21645466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluecalicocat/pseuds/bluecalicocat
Summary: “Jisung, when you said you had something to show me, I was expecting, like, a painting or maybe a new song. Not your illegal love child”, Hyunjin comments from where he’s stopped in the middle of their living room.“It’s not my illegal love child”, Jisung objects. “She’s a kitten!”(animals aren't allowed in the dorms, but Minho brings a kitten home and Jisung loves it. also, a winter concert happens)
Relationships: Han Jisung | Han/Lee Minho | Lee Know
Series: young, dumb and in love [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1565239
Comments: 10
Kudos: 319





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hey! this is part of a series but you don't need to read the first part to understand this :p

Minho prides himself on having more impulse control than most of his friends. At least Minho thinks he doesn’t usually makes rushed decisions.

He wouldn’t say this is a rushed decision either. Actually, he would argue that it’s simply a very obvious decision, and that’s why he makes it in only a couple of seconds. After all, the small kitty looks hungry and sad. Minho can’t just leave it on the street all alone, no, what kind of monster would do something like that?

He carries the small animal under his coat on his way back to the dorm, trying to shelter it from the cold. The poor thing must have been freezing.

Minho opens the door to the dorm, and Jisung shouts almost immediately,

“Hyung don’t come into my room! I spilt color.”

Minho just chuckles at that, walking into the kitchen to put the kitten down on the counter so he can look it over. He finds himself grateful for his studies in veterinary medicines, cause even though it's not vet school, he knows a bit of what he's looking for.

Aside from being cold, hungry and lonely, she doesn’t appear to be hurt. Minho had found her in a cardboard box outside the school library, leading him to believe that someone was trying to get rid of her. Why anyone would want to do that is beyond him.

Jisung comes out from his room, his grey sweater covered in paint stains. At first, the younger doesn’t notice the small kitty on the countertop, but then he does a double take and gasps.

“Ohmygosh it’s adorable!” he exclaims, though he speaks a lot softer than normal, most likely in an attempt not to scare the animal. Jisung is so careful when he approaches the cat, more than Minho has ever seen him. Honestly, it’s adorable.

Jisung holds out a hand for the kitten, and at first she leans away from it, but then she takes a small step forward and sniffles. It takes a few moments, but she seems to decide that she likes Jisung since she then licks him, making the boy giggle.

Minho smiles fondly at the scene in front of him. His boyfriend is adorable, and the kitten only makes it worse.

“So, uh, I actually have a problem”, he says, causing Jisung to look away from the small animal he’s currently petting. He makes a hum to show that he’s listening. “Animals aren’t allowed in the dorms.”

Jisung stops moving his hand. The kitten nudges him, reminding him to resume his petting, though the sad expression doesn’t leave his face. Honestly, Minho feels the same way. He doesn’t want to leave the kitten, doesn’t want to risk putting her in worse conditions than she was before.

“We could take care of her anyway”, Minho continues, looking at Jisung’s face. “As long as no one finds out, it’s fine.”

“That’s a horrible morality, but I agree”, Jisung speaks with a small smile. “But what do we do if they check the dorms?”

“They have not done that once since I moved here, I honestly don’t think they care as long as the students don’t cause any scandals.”

Taking care of a kitten doesn’t exactly count as a scandal, so that ends that discussion.

“Does the cat have a name?” Jisung asks, watching the kitten as it walks away from his hand, exploring the rest of the kitchen counter. Not that it’s large, but she seems too scared to jump down, so she stays on top of it.

“No, but I have a suggestion.” Jisung looks at him, waiting to hear his idea. “Dori.”

“It’s cute”, Jisung comments, “just like her.”

Yeah, maybe the decision is made fast, and without any real consideration of what it means to house a kitten in a dorm where there aren’t supposed to be any animals, but Minho knows they’ll make it work. Jisung already seems to have bonded with Dori, so he knows his boyfriend is in support of the idea.

How hard can it be?

-

“Jisung, when you said you had something to show me, I was expecting, like, a painting or maybe a new song. Not your illegal love child”, Hyunjin comments from where he’s stopped in the middle of their living room.

“It’s not my illegal love child”, Jisung objects. “She’s a kitten!”

He’s sitting on the couch, watching as Hyunjin’s expression goes from surprised to slightly annoyed, before he seems to resign himself to his fate and sits down on the floor next to Felix.

“You’re lucky she’s cute”, he comments, holding out a hand for the kitten in Felix’s lap to smell. The other boy is already head over heels for the tiny animal, cooing and petting her instead of minding his two friends in the room. Felix has no issues with the part about animals not being allowed, or his friend’s plan to keep the kitten in his dorm despite it. Jisung is pleased with the lack of arguing.

Not that Hyunjin won’t come around. With every fond look he gives the kitten, Jisung can see how his friend worries less and less about this whole thing.

A second later, there’s a knock on the door. Jisung gets up from his seat on the couch to go open it, expecting to find Seungmin on the other side. He’s not surprised when he does.

The eight days younger boy is already looking exasperated, as if anticipating that whatever Jisung has to show him won’t be good.

“Where is it?” Seungmin asks, not even bothering with a greeting.

Jisung steps aside with a grin, letting Seungmin into the dorm without responding to his question. He doesn’t even have to tell him where the others are; Felix’s and Hyunjin’s cooing can be heard into the hallway where they’re standing. Instead Jisung simply follows Seungmin as he makes his way toward the living room.

The younger boy stops in the doorframe, eyes on the people in front of him. Jisung walks around Seungmin to go sit down on the couch again, still grinning as he waits for his friend to say something.

Hyunjin looks up as they enter, giving Seungmin a small smile and a wave. The boy doesn’t return the silent greeting, but he does raise his eyebrows.

“A kitten?” he says, his voice laced with disbelief. Seungmin looks between Jisung and the animal, clearly still processing whatever dumb shit the art major has gotten himself into this time. “You know they don’t allow pets in the dorms, right?”

“Yeah”, Jisung hums, leaning back slightly. “But you know, it’s only illegal if you get caught.”

If possible, Seungmin raises his eyebrows even higher.

“First of all, it’s not illegal, it’s just not allowed” he corrects. “And it doesn’t matter if you get caught or not, you’re breaking the rules just as much anyway.”

“Seungminnie”, Felix says, and it almost sounds like he’s singing it. “Don’t worry about that! Dori is really cute. No one will notice, and she’ll have it better here than on the streets.”

“We’re gonna take care of her well”, Jisung adds.

Seungmin doesn’t seem convinced yet, but he does crouch down on the floor next to the other two, even if it’s with a sigh. He glances at the kitten cautiously. In all honesty, Jisung is surprised that she hasn’t run away from them yet, that she’s still allowing them to pet her. She’s only somewhat hesitant to approach Seungmin’s outstretched hand, but just like she’s done three times earlier today, she eventually walks up to him.

“So, guys, change of topic. The showcase”, Hyunjin speaks up as Seungmin starts petting the tiny animal. “It’s tomorrow.”

“Yeah, we know”, Jisung says with a grimace. Hyunjin gives him a look, probably knowing what the other is thinking. “And Minho hyung still hasn’t heard me rap.”

Felix looks away from the kitten.

“Okay, I don’t know what you’re thinking, but there’s no way he won’t like your rap”, Felix says. “I don’t know Minho, but that’s impossible.”

“Not to be sappy, but I agree”, Seungmin chimes in. “If he’s dating you, there’s no way he won’t like your rap.”

Jisung looks at them.

“Yeah, but that’s not the problem...”

“Then what is?” Hyunjin asks. Jisung doesn’t even look annoyed at having been cut off.

“I mean, we wrote all the lyrics and they can be pretty deep. I just… Listening to any of our songs, it would be like he’s reading my mind. I guess I’m just scared of being too personal.”

“Music is personal, though”, Hyunjin says, his eyes on the other boy. “And he’s your boyfriend. That means he likes you, and you’ve shared things with each other before. I don’t know where I’m going with this…”

The other art major trails off and knits his eyebrows, not sure how to put his thoughts into words. Seungmin takes over.

“I understand you’re worried, but whatever the lyrics say, it’s something you’ll want him to know at some point, right?” Jisung nods at this. “Right. So, it might be terrifying, but afterwards, he’ll know you just a tad bit better. That’s just what happens with relationships over time. You learn more, and with every new thing you learn, the two of you become closer.”

At some point during his small speech, Jisung smiles.

“Thanks”, he says. “And yeah, I guess you’re right.”

-

Seungmin is right, but that doesn’t mean Jisung is any less nervous as he waits backstage for the winter concert to begin. The only people currently in the dressing room are him, Chan and Changbin. While the oldest is messing with his own hair (“I’m _fixing _it, Sungie.” “Sure Chan”), Changbin is adjusting his shirt so that it sits right. Jisung, who’s already given up on fixing his hair and outfit, is pacing the room.__

__They’re the first performance of this evening. Something about “making a good first impression”, according to the people who made the setlist, but right now, Jisung feels like he might forget every single lyric he’s ever written._ _

__“Jisung”, Changbin calls out, seemingly done with fixing his shirt or whatever he was doing before. Jisung turns to the other boy. “You’re gonna do fine.”_ _

__“I know”, Jisung says, though it’s not said with the same confidence as usual. He’s fidgeting with his shirt, eyes darting around the room, but he’s not actually as unsure of himself as it looks. Changbin is right; he’ll do fine. However, the look Changbin gives him clearly says that the rapper doesn’t believe him._ _

__They’re interrupted when Chan speaks._ _

__“We start in two minutes”, their unofficial leader tells them. “It’s time to go.”_ _

__Jisung stops fidgeting. He’s not sure if being numb to his emotions is a better choice in this situation, but what he does know is that he doesn’t want to stumble or drop the mic while they’re on stage, so he forces the nervousness to the back of his mind and follows his hyungs as they navigate the short way to the side of the stage from the changing room._ _

__Changbin takes his hand on the way there and gives it a gentle squeeze. Jisung is grateful for his unspoken support._ _

__They stop at the side of the stage, standing behind the curtains where they’re able to see the audience, but the audience can’t see them. It’s currently dark on the stage but the spotlights will turn on in a minute. Jisung isn’t sure who’s going to introduce the winter concert. Is it the principal? One of the music teachers?_ _

__The answer comes no more than ten seconds later when he sees a short woman that he recognizes as the school principal make her way up to the stage from the opposite side. 3racha watch in silence as she walks to the middle of the stage, a mic in her hand._ _

__Jisung can’t pay any attention to what she says. He hears the audience clap as she walks up, then she lifts the mic and talks, but when she eventually walks off the stage the same way that she came, he doesn’t remember a single word of it. All he knows is Changbin’s hand in his, guiding him onto the dark stage._ _

__The only sound is his own breathing. Once he’s in position, he closes his eyes and counts to three. When he opens them again, he feels ready._ _

__The music starts to play before the lights turn on. Jisung doesn’t look at the audience, forcing himself not to search for Minho’s face as the familiar beginning of “Broken compass” starts playing. Just as the intro finishes, the lights turn on, but instead of the bright and annoying spotlights in front, the scene is illuminated with blue and green lights. They turn on just in time for Jisung’s verse to start._ _

__He lifts the mic and lets the words flow._ _

__-_ _

__Jisung is still smiling as he makes his way out from the backstage area and toward the entrance to the auditorium. Minho had promised to save him a seat since Jisung was going first, so that they can watch the rest of the concert together._ _

__He looks over the sea of people from the door at the back of the room, trying to figure out where Minho is. Turns out he doesn’t have to think much, as his boyfriend turns his head around just as Jisung starts looking, and their eyes meet a second later. Jisung smiles and makes his way toward the row where Minho is seated._ _

__He’s sitting the furthest out in his row, pretty far back, probably so that Jisung would have an easier time finding him after finishing his performance. Jisung is grateful for that now since it means he doesn’t have to walk in the way of anyone._ _

__As soon as Jisung gets close enough, Minho half stands up from his seat and whispers,_ _

__“Holy shit Sungie, you were great!”_ _

__Jisung just keeps smiling, eyes crinkling, and leans forward to give Minho a small hug. He’s aware that everyone else in here is trying to watch the show, so they don’t drag it out for too long, even though it seems like Minho has a lot more he wants to say. Jisung does too, but instead, the older boy scoots over so that Jisung can sit on the seat at the end of the row, which he quickly does._ _

__Minho takes his hand once he’s sat down, leaning over to whisper again._ _

__“I’m so proud of you.”_ _

__Jisung feels like he’ll never stop smiling._ _

__-_ _

__The concert has to be at least halfway done when Jisung tightens his hold on Minho’s hand so much that it almost becomes painful. With a startle, Minho turns his head to the younger, but the boy isn’t looking at him. He has his eyes turned to the auditorium’s entrance where a group of boys have just stepped in and are heading toward some empty seat at the back of the audience. Minho furrows his brows, watching the almost panicked expression on Jisung’s face._ _

__A music teacher is currently up on the stage, about to present the next performance, and there are lots of other people talking, so Minho takes the opportunity to lean over to Jisung._ _

__“Hey, Sung, you okay?”_ _

__The younger flinches at that, drawing a quick breath before turning back to Minho. He sounds like he’s having trouble breathing and it makes Minho’s worry grow more with every passing second._ _

__“Sung, talk to me, what’s going on?”_ _

__The group of boys that just entered are now talking loudly in the back, but honestly, Minho is just glad they’re being annoying enough that everyone else in the room don’t pay any attention to the panicked boy on his right._ _

__Jisung suddenly stands up, turning away from him and hurrying toward the exit. Minho starts moving before his brain can comprehend what’s happening, rushing after the younger as he throws the door open and pretty much runs outside._ _

__It’s quiet once the door to the auditorium falls shut behind them. The only sound out here is Jisung’s loud, uneven breathing, but at least the boy isn’t rushing, though he still hasn’t stopped walking._ _

__Minho hurries up to him, but doesn’t touch him, not sure if that would be good in this situation._ _

__“Hey, it’s okay, you’re okay…”_ _

__Honestly, he has no idea what’s going on, but it seems like Jisung might be having some sort of panic attack._ _

__He reaches out a hand, but stops with it hanging in the middle of the air between them._ _

__“Can I touch you?” Minho decides to ask, at which Jisung shakes his head, face turned down as he keeps pacing the floor. Minho lets his hand drop but stays close enough that they could still reach each other in case Jisung changes his mind. “Okay. Uh, should we sit down? Here, you could try and copy my breathing. Can you try that?”_ _

__Jisung stills for a second before giving a small nod. He doesn’t look at where Minho is gesturing toward a nearby bench though, instead opting to just sit down on the floor where he’s standing. Well, that works too, Minho thinks as he joins the boy on the floor._ _

__Jisung seems to already be attempting to breathe calmer on his own._ _

__“Try and breathe with me”, Minho says, and the other nods again. It feels a bit strange as he begins to exaggerate his own breaths to make it easier for Jisung to follow, but at the same time, it’s strange in a very normal way. He’s just helping Jisung._ _

__It takes a couple of minutes, but as soon as Jisung isn’t on the brink of passing out from lack of air, he turns his eyes to Minho’s face. He’s a little pale, his eyes slightly glossy, but other than that, there aren’t any visible signs of what just went down._ _

__“I’m sorry”, Jisung says, his voice sounding like he’s been crying. Minho looks at him._ _

__“No, you don’t have to apologize”, Minho tells him, concern etched onto his features. “Never be sorry about this kind of thing. Do you wanna tell me what happened?”_ _

__Jisung opens his mouth, then closes it again and looks away from the older’s face._ _

__“Can it wait?” he says, a bit quieter. “Please?”_ _

__“Yeah, of course.” Minho searches the younger’s face for any sign of discomfort, trying to see if maybe he shouldn’t be so quick to let this go. When he finds none, he continues. “Do you wanna go back in there?”_ _

__Jisung shakes his head, eyes finding Minho’s again, and he honestly seems scared at the thought of going in there again._ _

__“I wanna go home”, Jisung says. “But you don’t have to come with, I don’t want you to miss the concert.”_ _

__“I’m coming with”, Minho says before Jisung can say anything else. He knows the younger hates feeling like a problem to anyone, but Minho would not be able to watch the rest of the show in peace while knowing that Jisung is back home feeling like shit. It’s his boyfriend, he’s supposed to be there for things like this._ _

__Jisung looks at him for a few more moments before giving a small nod, holding out his hand for the other to take. Minho stands up first, then takes Jisung’s outstretched hand and helps him up. He gets déjà vu to the countless times they’ve done this before, and figures that they must have spent a great deal of hours holding each other’s hand. Though, usually, they’re not sitting on the floor first._ _

__As usual, they don’t let go once they’re both standing up, instead continuing to hold each other’s hand as they walk together down the hallway._ _

__“We’re gonna miss Chan hyung and Chaeyoung noona's duet”, Jisung comments, a hint of guilt in his voice._ _

__“It’s not your fault”, Minho says softly. “They’ll understand. But the whole concert is being filmed, anyway, so we can watch it later if you want.”_ _

__Minho would be lying if he said he doesn’t want to know what’s wrong, what freaked Jisung out so much that be basically had a panic attack over it, but at the same time, he respects that Jisung said the explanation will have to wait._ _

__For now though, being with Jisung and making sure that he’s okay is enough._ _


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this does not fit the fluffy aesthetic of this series but it's still a part of the story.. the fluff will be back but i also like writing angst, soo yeah, this happened
> 
> also the guy jisung talks about in this isn't meant to be a real person so if he shares a name with anyone from real life then that was not my intention

On their way home to the dorm, Jisung and Minho stop by the pet store to buy a bowl for their newly adopted kitten, since they had bought food for her yesterday, but managed to forget about a bowl. It doesn’t take them too long, even though Jisung still seems tired from what went down in the auditorium.

They pay for the bowl before heading back to their dorm room. Minho holds the other boy’s hand the entire way there, and they don't talk, but there’s an openness in the air between them, as if the simple skin contact makes up for the words they aren’t speaking.

By the time they reach the dorms, Jisung’s anxious energy has been replaced with nervousness, most likely in anticipation of the conversation to come. Minho can’t find the words to calm him down, but he does rub his hand a little, hoping that the gesture can convey that he’s here for him.

They have to let go of each other’s hands to be able to take off their jackets, Minho dropping the bag with the bowl on the floor as they do so. After that, he stills and looks at Jisung.

“So…” he starts, and Jisung makes a grimace.

“I guess I have something to tell you?” Jisung says. It sounds more like a question, so Minho nods at the boy. “In the living room?”

Minho nods again, and they walk over to the couch together, sitting down next to each other as Jisung starts fidgeting with the sleeves of his sweater.

It’s quiet for a few moments. Then Jisung glances over at him, uncertainty in his eyes.

“I’m not sure where to start…”

“Okay.” Minho isn’t sure either, considering he doesn’t really know what he’s in for. All he knows is what happened at the auditorium. “Just tell me as much as you want to, it doesn’t have to be everything. I just want to understand what happened.”

Jisung nods and breathes out slowly, pulling his sleeves down so that he gives himself sweater paws. If the situation wasn’t serious, Minho might have cooed at that.

“I had a friend back in high school”, Jisung begins, eyes on his own hands. “And I guess he had a crush on me. Or, at least that’s how it started. We were just really good friends, I knew he liked me, but I didn’t feel the same way. We never talked about it. I thought it would pass…”

(Jisung could feel Sejin glare at him all the way across the room, so after giving Felix a quick hug and excusing himself from the small group, he walked back toward Sejin with a raised eyebrow. Why he was sitting by himself in a corner of this party, Jisung didn’t know. All he knew was that Sejin had been watching him for some time.

“You’re being too friendly with them”, the other boy said. Jisung stopped in his tracks, caught off-guard by the comment.

“Uh, yeah, so what? They’re my friends.” He didn’t see the problem.

“Are you sure about that? I don’t like the way they talk to you, they way they touch you...”

“They were literally just hugging me.”

“I don’t like it. You shouldn’t do it.”

Jisung felt his throat go dry, but he nodded, not wanting to argue about it. He wasn’t sure why Sejin’s comments made him so uneasy, but they did.)

Jisung isn’t sure how to continue. He opens and closes his mouth a few times, and Minho reaches out to rub his arm. Jisung smiles gratefully at the older, because even though the memories he’s recounting aren’t the most positive, he wants to explain. Wants Minho to understand. His silent support is enough for Jisung to continue his explanation.

“His name was Sejin. We used to hang out all the time, but something changed in my senior year. I don’t think anything special happened. He just seemed to decide that he was tired of ignoring his feelings, tired of just being friends.”

(It was only the two of them in the classroom. Even the teacher had left in a hurry to get to his next class, not bothering to wait for the students to leave so that he could lock the door. Jisung honestly hadn’t noticed Sejin was here with him until he turned around, bag slung over his shoulder, ready to leave, before his eyes landed on the slightly older boy.

“Jisung”, Sejin called in a soft voice as soon as he noticed Jisung's eyes on him. “I have something for you.”

Something in Sejin’s voice had Jisung alarmed, but he couldn’t act on it. That’d be weird, right? They’re friends. He shouldn’t be alarmed by whatever was about to happen.

Then, Sejin stepped closer to him, eyes on Jisung’s lips as he leaned forward slowly.

Right before their lips were about to meet, Jisung panicked and took a step back, accidentally bumping into a table as he started to apologize profusely.

“I’m sorry, I can’t do this, so sorry if I gave you the wrong impression...”

When he looked up at Sejin, his eyes weren’t as dark as he’d expected them to be. No. The boy was smiling.

“That’s fine, Ji. We can still be together. You don’t have to feel that way, I’m sorry if I was reading into things…”)

“He tried to kiss me once. After that, I don’t really know…” Jisung meets Minho’s eyes, and that calms him down a bit. “Something between us changed. He started acting like I was his, in a really possessive way, and even though he didn’t try to kiss me again, I could tell he wanted to. He wanted to approve of what I was wearing, always had to know where I was and who I was with… And I didn’t see anything wrong with it. Not at first.”

_“Where do you think you’re going dressed like that?” “Hey, Ji, give me your phone, I wanna check your messages…” “You’ve been talking too much to Hyunjin lately. There’s nothing going on between you two, right?”_

As Jisung pauses, Minho hums to show that he’s still listening, continuing to draw circles onto Jisung’s arm as he waits for the younger to keep talking. Minho has a lot to say about this, a lot of questions and thoughts, but they will have to wait. Jisung needs to say this first.

“It kept going like that for basically my entire senior year, and I felt really bad all the time because of him. My other friends noticed, but they didn’t understand what was wrong. They thought I liked Sejin, that we were dating, and that’s why I wasn’t hanging out with them as much. I didn’t know how to tell them, so I never said anything. They didn’t find out until I got into the hospital.”

(“You can’t leave me. You couldn’t live without me.”

Jisung stared at the other boy, trying to appear braver than he was feeling.

“Well, I can’t stay either. This isn’t working.”

He didn’t see it coming. Anger laced Sejin’s features, but Jisung didn’t notice the desperation, not until he was being pushed against the wall so hard that the pain made him grunt, but the older boy didn’t seem to notice.

“No, you listen here, Ji”, he boy said in a harsh voice. “You’re mine, you hear that? I love you. You can’t leave me! I’d do anything for you, I love you…”

“No, no, you can’t. I have to leave”, Jisung whispered. The desperation in Sejin’s eyes grew, and then there was a sharp pain accompanied by a loud smack, before Jisung was sinking down to the floor, his ears ringing. Sejin had just slapped him across the face. Hard.

It only took another second for the older to realize what he had done.

“Oh shit, it wasn’t meant to go this far, I swear!”

The pain on his face as well as the pain at the back of his head made Jisung’s vision go dark, the last thing he heard being Sejin’s broken sobs.)

At this, Minho stops moving his hand as he looks at Jisung. The younger boy isn’t turned to him at the moment, his gaze distant as he stares in front of himself, lost in the memories.

“He put you in the hospital?” Minho asks out loud, needing to hear the confirmation from Jisung before he can believe it. The boy turns his face to him and gives a small nod.

“He pushed me against a wall so I hit my head pretty hard. Then he slapped me, and I passed out. I woke up at the hospital with a concussion.”

Jisung stays quiet as Minho processes everything he’s been told. Honestly, he’d figured that the younger boy had some sad backstory, some past experience bad enough to still affect him to this day. Maybe it was the nightmares that gave it away, but Minho had his suspicions.

He hadn’t expected to hear this, though.

“So, wait”, he says. Jisung looks at him. “What does this have to do with what happened at the concert today?”

Jisung makes a small grimace.

“I saw him there. I haven’t seen him here before, didn’t even know he goes here, and it made me freak out.”

“Do the others know about what happened between you? Does Chan and Changbin know?” Minho asks. Maybe they could be of help with this issue if they know about it. Minho really doesn’t want Jisung to have to encounter him again, considering the reaction he had this time, not if he can help it.

“I’m pretty sure Chan hyung has punched him at least once”, Jisung says with a small smile. “And Changbin hyung kneed him in the balls. I was there, I saw it.”

Minho can’t help the laugh that escapes him at that, because the image of a protective, revenge-driven Changbin makes him wonder how he could have missed out on that happening. After all, they were roommates. He can’t believe he never knew about this.

They settle down in a bit of a better mood than before, Jisung glad to have gotten that weight off of his shoulder, and Minho still thinking over everything he’s learned today. The thought of everything Jisung went through sends a wave of protectiveness surging through him, and he wishes he could make it better, but he also knows that it’s already happened, way before he even knew Jisung’s name. That doesn’t make him less inclined to protect Jisung now, though.

After a while, the younger boy speaks up again.

“How was high school for you, hyung?”

Minho grins.

"Ah, no, high school was easy. It was like a stroll in the park. Except, the park was on fire. And there was an earthquake. And a tsunami at the same time. Actually, everything was on fire, because it was hell."

Jisung laughs and snuggles closer to Minho, a safe feeling in his chest. The memories may have hurt him, but he’s good now, even though seeing Sejin made him panic earlier.

At least it helped him open up to Minho.

Dori choses that moment to wander over to the couch, jumping up on the armrest on one side and sits there, watching them. Minho smiles at her and tightens his arm around Jisung, pulling the younger closer. It feels oddly perfect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wooh!  
> i'm currently writing another story for this universe. the title for it is "christmas!" but i'm not sure if i'll post it before christmas :))
> 
> thank you for reading!


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